KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — Tobacco company Philip Morris Malaysia (PMM) has launched an anti-smoking campaign, hoping to raise awareness on the need to quit lighting up.
The campaign, which was launched last Thursday, is a photo exhibition that ends on Sunday. It features the works of three local photographers — SC Shekar, David Lok, and Nadirah Zakariya — and hopes to get smokers to “unsmoke”.
To “unsmoke” is to quit smoking or change their smoking habits for the better, and not to start smoking if a person is not a smoker already, read a press release by PMM.
The campaign, a localised version of an initiative of the same idea that was launched by Philip Morris International in April, reinforces the message that quitting smoking altogether is the best choice any smoker can make, and for those who don’t, to have access to accurate information about alternatives as opposed to continuing smoking.
The campaign can help unite smokers, non-smokers, and agents of change to engage in a compelling people-driven public conversation about the need to quit tobacco and nicotine or choose better alternatives, PMM claimed.
This call to action stemmed from the knowledge that despite global efforts to encourage people to quit or not to start smoking, the World Health Organisation predicts that there will still be approximately the same number of people who smoke in 2025 as there are today.
Veronica Choo, PMM’s head of corporate communications, pointed out that quitting cigarettes and nicotine altogether is always the best decision.
“But in reality, a large population of existing adult smokers will continue to smoke,” Choo said. “Don’t they deserve an option to choose a better alternative? At PMM, we certainly believe so.”
While science, technology, and innovation have enabled access to better alternatives for those who continue to smoke, PMM said scientific research shows they could be a much better choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes.
Adult smokers should receive accurate and non-misleading information about smoke-free products that can help rid the world of cigarette smoke and allow them to make an informed choice about better alternatives, it added.
“There is a growing consensus among scientists and public health experts that products that do not burn and are backed by science are a much better choice than continuing to smoke cigarettes,” Choo said.
“PMM’s mission is to create a smoke-free future backed by science, technology and innovation to offer less harmful alternatives to those who would otherwise continue smoking.”
“Unsmoke: Through the Lens of Malaysians” by the three Malaysian photographers is curated by gallerist and art collector, Lim Wei-Ling.
Admission to the photography exhibition will be open to the public free of charge until this Sunday at Colony @ Star Boulevard, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.
